Air-engine.



CHRISTOPHER JOHN LAKE (NAME CHANGED FROMIJOHN CHRISTOPHER LAKE BY JUDICIAL ORDER).

AIR ENGINE APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1905. RENEWED SEPT. 22, 1908.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

VATTAORNEY QHRISTOPHBR JOHN LAKE (NAME CHANGED FROM JTQHR'ISTOPHER LAKE BY JUDICIAL ORDER).

AIR ENGINE. v APPLIOATION FILED JULY 14, 1'B 5L- RBNBWED SEPT. 22, 1908.

llll r/zmflllm I fiVVE/V'TOR, WITNESSES 67271560 kenjoim/M:

y'eg 0C LL far/fie y ATTORNEY I Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

CHRISTOPHER SEEN LAKE (NAME CHANGED PROMJOHN GHR-ISTOPEER LAKE BY JUDIGIAL ORDER).

AIR ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1906. RENEWED, SEPT. 22, 1908.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

000 can VE/V TOR opooouoooaon OOOOQ ATTORNEY dug- UNITED STATES orini'si'rotnnarbhnmnn, .(NAM'E unseen-Peon ronnoniiisroiinnli; tans BY mans cause. or BRIDGEPORT,.OON NEQTIOUT;'

mnnemn'.

Be a knownthat 1, Cnnrs'rornnn JOHN a citizen of the United States, and resident of Bridgeport; in the county of Fairfield-and' 'State' of Connectieut', have invented certain r new and usefullmprovements in'AirEngines,

o'f .whichthe following is a specification.

This "invention relates to n'ieans'or appa- I o ratus' for converting the energy ofv an expensive" fiuid,,-such as steam, into 1 work --th'rough the medium of a rotary -wheel havades 'or' wings of the-type known as rotary engines. In carrying Out my inven-' tion' however, I do not employ the steam in 1 such manneras to impinge directly upon the blades or wings of the rotary engir'ie orwheel, but only to produce a current of air of siich -qu antity' and force as to practically take up or dissipate the steam and act; upon said "blades or wings in the same manner as wind.v The engine, may therefore be termed a wind engine or air engine.

In existing. systems of applying heat en- 5 5- ergy to" work, only about 10% of the energyis turned into work and 90% goes to waste. In the heat engines injwhich the heat is aplied direct inthe engine, the radiation is so intense, that waterackets or air cooling must be resorted to, which alone causes a direct loss of, over 40% besides the loss at exhaust and other radiations. In the steam engine, the only heat utilized for work that which is transmitted to the water with no attempt to utilize the direct or prime heat of combustion, which goes direct out of the stack towaste, as does alsothe heat that radiates from the boiler and the engine'- and,

. v that which escapes at the exhaust. Thus 40 eachsystem attempts to wastes. l obviate these losses of the heat energy by first transferring all theforces of the'heat elements into a large volume of air inmotion which assumes and conserves the heat and convertsit into another form of motive force, represented-by volume and velocity instead of by pressure due to. its temperature; thus the-volume of air and its velocity supersedes the original force, while so thetemperature is reduced according to the" -volume of air introduced, whichis energized to its maximumvelocity, and minimum temower pu-r-' perature, and then 'usedfor' any poses or in an engine or motor w t out radia- 5 5 tionor'loss'of heat with the exhau's'ti, Thus sisecificat'i n' r Letters steal LAKE, (formerly JOHN CHRISTOPHER LAKE,')

con'oint o the ordinary way, jo en, the damper in use what the other substantially as rceented'apriie, 1909"; Renewed September 2,1998. Serial No. e5 1256'.

i all the energy is utilized putting theair-inmotion to forman air current having: a

force,- according to its volume and velocity;

and as such air currentcan heused an ejn gine with about 88% efficiency, whilesteanie'fficiency in an en e is onlynbout 10% of .the heat energy, t e-great advantage. of my.

system of first transferring the heat energy.- into air currents and .thenusing said currents as motive ower, isvapparent.

"One of; he objects of my invention is to sure impulse,.to put'or force alargevolune of air into motion with-a. velocity mensurate-with the steam energy, and subrents).as motive force for. power purposes n substitution of the steam direct.

vA. further object isto combinemihdntimel boththe heat or .ener

, of the steam and the prime or direct eat of combustion ..contained in the stack'gases, and to so utilize .force com- .utilize the steam energy ofavery high pres-J I i .sequently use this air in motlon (or air..cu r'' the steann conjointly with the stack gases V that the. energy of both be converted into work. q A furth '1' object is eration of a damper or shut-off in t e stac or chimney fromthe boiler with the steam throttle, so that when the throttle valve. 1s closed, the damper. will be open in the stack so as to allow the fire to burn in and when the throttle is, the Stack will be closed to provide. for. the I w en thesteam. will dominate and cause the wholecombustion elementsto exert force and erform work with the force of all the heat e ements conserved and united.

,A further objectis to so employ the steam as to augment the furnacedraft and induce or draw air through an outer casing which incloses the boiler, the engine and the exhaust pipe thereof, thence thmugh the furnace where the air will be highly heated before reachingthe steam to which it will deliver its-heat with a consequent drying effect and which will, inturn, by its pressure and velocity, impel the air 'comniingled with itself intoa power fluid-of largevolume and velocity; p

' To these ends, the invention consists'in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.' e 0f the accompanying 'drawmgsrvfigure 1 represents an elevation, part1; in section 7 plane: Fig.

enlarged view,

and partly broken away, of the various parts of an apparatus embodying my invention, the general line of section throu h therotary engine being indicated by the otted lines 1*1 in Figs. 2 and3.-'l "In said Fig. 1

sents an enlarged detail elevation,'on

66 of Fig. 1, of' the connections between the steam throttle-valve stem and .the damper in the smoke-stack'of the furnacel Similar reference characters indicate' the same or similar parts'throughout the several views.

A furnace and boiler of a conventional type are represented at 10, said -boiler having a steam dome 11 and the smoke-stack 12 of the furnacefbeing providedwith a dam er 13, A steam pipe 14:, having agglobeva ve 15, leads from the steam dome into a branch 16 of the smoke-stack,said branch 16 projecting into the mouth-17fof the funnel which will be fully described hereinafte'n' The circular castingor casing 18 of the engine is su ported on alsuitable base 19, and is forme or providedwithtwo inwardly projecting annular partitions 20;. The port ring 21- is supported-by the artiti ons and maybe cast integral. therewit and with the.

' casmg-18; The side plates 22 are secured 'to the circular-casing .by bolts 23 and are formed with 'bearings for the-"shaft 24" of the rotary wheel 25, the latter ha vanes or blades 26'. -The form of these bla es'will be understood by comparing Figs. 1. and 3,-

but such form may be 'variousl v The'side plates are formed w th annular 5'0 modified.

internal grooves forming exhaust channels '27 the upper portions of which communicate with exhaust pipes 28.. 4 $aid-exhaust channels are opposite the edges of the blades 26 as shownm F1g..2. l

As shown in Fig. 1, the casing 18 .and port ring 21 are interrupted in their circular continuity by a-tangential extension form ng an inlet 29 to which the funnel or nozzle is connected. In said inlet,two gates '30 are pivoted at 31 -(see also Fig. 3) and are provided with shafts '32 in line with their pivots, said shafts having pinion's 33 meshing with each other, and one of said shafts having an operating crank 'orhandle 34 7 means of whichfthe-gates maybe swung from the position shown by full'lines in- Fig.'-3 to the position indicated by dotted lines, or vice verse, to direct the current of impelling fluid from the nozzle either solely the two partitions 20 or to the two'annular spaces 36' around the'outside of said partitions;

- The port ring 2 1 is formed with three rows s aces 35, 36. Said orts are-smallest at t eir ends where. the uid enters them and largest at their inner ends .to spread the fluid.

against the. blades and prevent choking of the ports. The-ports 351' of the central row- ;are inclined in the direction shownin the left-hand portion of;Fig. 1, and the ports 361 of; the outer or side-rows are inclined .in the opposite direction, as shown in the right hand portion of said figure. When the gates 30 are in the full line position of Fig. 3,-the' fluid is directed solely into the space between the two partitions 20 and from there must pass through the ports 3 51 and impinge upon the double concave sides or faces of the blades and rotate the wheel in the direction which, in. practice, will be considered the for.-

ward motion. The fluid then esca es into the exhaust channels 27' and from t are out through the pipes 28. To reverse the engine,

ates 30 are swung to the dotted line position in Fi 3 so asto meet at'their free edges, and the uid is then deflected into the two side chambers 36 from whence it can only escape through the backwardlyinclined ports 361 (see Fig: 1) and impinge upon the double con- ,vex'faces-of the blades, rotating-the wheel backward, and exhausting, as before, through the channels 27 and ipes 28. I shall now descri e the most important featureorflieatures of my invention, which are comprised in the arrangement and constructiori of the funnel or nozzle, although it is to be understood that-I am not limited to the particular form and details of the embodiment which I have chosen to illustrate in this ap licatio'n.

The iilnnel or nozzle is connected to the inlet 29 and within its main or outercasing are two-perforated shells, onewithin'the other.

The outer perforated shell 37 flares and the inner perforated shell 38 contracts in the direction of the passage of the fluid,-and the termed its throat, but the annular space between said casing and the perforated shell graduallytapers from the throat y tethe le into the annular space 35 between 'of portsl'eading in from the three annular titer? tend from the closed endio v I points to deliver jets of fiuidirito'the throatm of the perforated shells," drawirig'iil' orehe training air from u y as it so passes. These ipes' or conduits 41 may, if desired, be peri orat efdifla manner similar to the shells 37, 38, soas'to entrain air threu'gh the walls thereof by the' velocity of fluid passing throug'li'th "in. Steam 'noaltils 42 are connected to the sfteamsupply pipe 14 andte'rminate a slight distance short "dithe entrance erifisof the-conduits or es 41330 that as jets of steaifrfaredeliveredby the "steam nozzles 'into said ond its; su'h j'e'ts will entrain products of combustiori'froih the braheh16 and, augmented thereby, be itiafisrfiittea through the "conduits "41 a jts of combined steaii'i and liotfgases from'the' furnace, and then, passin "into thethroat a:

and nie'vingwith great vi ocity" through the;

flaring annular spacebetween erfo-' rated shells, entrain more air'tlirough t Billclin'ed openings" 39 and assiifiiltite therewith;

' arouirdthe outer perforate(l shell but also from the sp'ace-"w'vithin'the in'l'ler perforated shell, for-air from the funnel mouth 17 passes between the conduits41. The high tem peratu-ie of the steam and furnace gases,'be-. ing-taken'up by the air thoroughly assimilated therewith,e,xpands the air and imparts.

increasedvelocity and momentum-ther to as the fluid for actuating the engine The difli-' cult point to overeo'ineflin co'nstructil ig a practical and successful apparatus on this principle is to cause the heat force to actuate and'en'e-rgize a sufficiently large volume of air to conserve the heat and transfer it into ve q' y, tends to'jump or passair Will be drawn in and attain the same ve- Idcity-thereWith, through" an air opening which restricts the volume of air contact with thejsteami In other words, it "is diffic'trlt and heretofore has been impossible to assimilate and transfer any considerable st'earr'i or heat force at high tei'np'eratuieand pressure intothe force of 55 considerably lower tempsn'ttu're. Hence,- to -apcomplish' this result, I have invented What a ste'am'and air "assim'ilator, which ives'supplenien-tal impulses to the air and imparts the maximum velocity with mini; mum temperature. This assimilator, as

"fallow 11;in Fig; 4,- comprises an outer" funnel j This ' suit-able 'stays40fconiiecting it With-the traneh 16 of the smoke-stack Pipes 41- e; e branch 16th the mouth 17 of "are funnel" Such air is drawn not only from the space Because the rapidly movingfsteam the inert air'before the air in motion at a casing serving to increase the'ai-r flow and concentrate it into the steam domain:

as shown iii-Fig. 4 the steam s'upply pipe the steam nozzles,- said tip having aconcave inner face. A convex'faced throttle-valve 44, adapted to simultaneously close or open the entrances or ports of all thenozzles42, is rovided with a stem passing through a suitable stuffing box andalso through a threaded-opening of the steam; pipe. Said stem is threaded and'provide'dwith an oper-' ating hafidle or knob by "which the throti tie-valve may be actuated to control the pas sage of steam through the nozzles 42'; l prefer to employ means whereby the movement of the throttle-valve may actuate the "damper, since it is desirable that the" damper be'open when the throttle is closed, and closedwhen the throttle is open; For

and used as a part of the-motive power for the engine, some'draft'must be provided for the furnace. Andwhen the furnace" asesv are tlrawn through the branch 16,: it is esir-' able that the damper be closed to avoid down-draft through the upper "part of the "smoke-stack The connections'which'l have sho'tvh for doing this, are detachable however, so that if desired the damper may be independently controlled or set by hand. And they are also adjustable to permit the amount 'of'movement 0f the damper by the throttle to be varied. As shown inFigs'. '1 and 6', the damper '13 has a handpiece 47 'and an ex- "cu'rv'e'd' arm 49'provid'ed with a series of holes along its length. A bracket -50 is suitably secured, as to the steam" pipe 14, and is meshing with a pinion 52 securedon the stein 45 of the throttle-valve. A link 5-3 is'pivoted to, the arm 49 of the damper-stemby a suitable pin which may connect-saidlink with any one of the holes in said arm; By removing said pin, the parts are disconnected, and by changing it from one hole-to another in the arm 49, the amount "of" damper-swing that will be imparted by a given amountof throttle-action Will be varied. A sheet metal casing-'54 inclqses the engine, furnace and boiler; and is provided-With air-inlet holes 55 near the base of the engine. A partition 56 extends between the engine and the furnace nearlyto t'he top ofzthe casmg. a door 57 by means ofwhich, :when open, fuel may be supplied to the inclo'sed furnace.

Jnthfi drawings I do not show'the openings open'ings are concealed by the casing 54..

"As all air passing-to the furnace must come the space'witifin thewasing' 54', saidair 14 is fitted with a; ti -ertapae whichcarrles formed with a vertical guidevvay for a rack 51 i when no furnace gases are being drawnofi tended axis or stem 48, "the latter having a to theupperend of the rack and is connected The front of the latter is provided-With Whichare necessarily employed to-admit air "to su pport combustion in the furnace, as said prevents radiation of heat outside the casing from the inclosed apparatus, and beingheated to a considerable degree by carrying off the radiated'heat from the inclosed apparatus, aids in attaining a high temperature of steam and furnacegases passing to the assimilator. The partition 56 causes the air entering on one side of the engine to circulate or pass up closeto said engine until it escapes over the top of said partition. V

The operation of the motor will now be understood without further detailed description. thereof. :The artificially produced air currents are caused to be forced through the engine wheel against one side of the blades only, the aperture-to each blade being not.

large enough to allow the movi air to enter and fill and choke the passage etween the blades and thus retard the velocit and produce back pressure against the a ter or oncomingblade; and solong as the velocity of the air current is greater than the travel of the wheel blades, .it will impingeagainst. the forward blade and transmit its velocity force thereto in line of wheel rotation without any back pressure.

I am able to get a relatively large volume of free or normal air entrapped or influenced means of the large funnel opening'which al so concentrates and conveys the air into the space in which the steam dominates with increasing velocity as concentration takes place on its approach to the steam contact. Thus the funnel is an essential as its size at the mouth determines the volumeof air taken in as the steam pressure and tempera ture determines the velocity of the volume acoordingato the completeness of their assimilation. The numerous air inlets of the steam expanding nozzles distribute the air to the 4 steam in. minute streams so as to facilitate perfect assimilation during the process of steam expansion from the point-of high presengine.

2. In an apparatus .of the character described, the combination of a furnace smoke.-

stack having a branch, a funnel inclosing said branch, a steam pipe leading into. said branch, means whereby steam from said' will entrainair' and furnace gases and i e (deliver them through the funnel as a power fluid, and a motor having movable members to receive the. impact of said power flu d.

3. In an apparatus of the character de-c scribed, the combination of a furnace smokestack having a branch, a funnel inclosin said branch, a steam ipe leading into sai branch, 'meanswhere by steam from said pi will entrain air and furnace gases and c e 1v er, them through the funnel, the entrance end of the funnel bein flaring whereby the steam and gases entrain air in large volume as apower fluid, and a motor having movable members to rece ve the impact of said power fluid.

4. Means for'producing an aeriform current for obtaining power, comprising a tubular casing having a contracted intermediate portion, a flaring perforated shell said casing, a tapering perfor U shell within the flaring shell, and means r delivering highpressure steam between said perforated shells.

. 5. Means for producing an aerifo'rm cur-.

rent for obtainingpower, com rising a tubular casing having a'contracte intermediate portion, a flaring perforated shell I said casing, a. taperin perforated shell" Within ng She and' means for delivering higlhlfiressure steambetweensaid perforated 's e the shells beinginclined in t of ther ower fluid.

branch extendin "into the-casin con uits leading from sa d branch to t e annular space at the entrance endof sa d shells,

nozzles adapted to deliver steam to said e direction'of flow I.

pprforations ingthe e combination a funnel orinozzle .casing,, of perforated shells concen-I trically mounted therein, ;a smoke ipeconduits and means for supplying steam variably to said nozzles.

7. The combination with a steam boiler, furnace and smoke pipe of means for producing a composite power fluid, said means comprising a steam' et nozzle in the smokepipe of the furnace and a funnel or cash: surrounding said smoke-pipe and nozzle an adapted'to mingle air with the steam furnace gases from the smoke-pipe.

--.8. The combination of a steam boiler'flffl' branch from said smoke pipe; 9. steampipe from said boiler; anozzle on said steam pipe;- located within said branch; and autoinatirh furnace; a smoke'pipe from. said furnace; a i

means whereby the smoke pipe is closed.

when the steam p'pe is open and opened when the steam plpe is closed.

9. The combination of a'ste am boiler and furnacewith an im a'ct -motor; acasing surrounding said boi er, furnace and motor and- --rneans forconducting air from said casing to the-furnace. 10. .The combination of a steam boiler and furnace with an im act motor; a casing surrounding said --boi er, furnace and motor means for conducting air from said casin to the and means formixing amass a the same Iiljil-Ul and a-miiiuci-ing 11. The combination (if a steam bailer and" finding 5am H & EUIIRL Dwain air and. f0 f "dapiad. to m se gasas, the an and gases hem: a. way-em by steam issuizgg from the nozzle; and .maans far canducting the steam air and mum gasw to the motor; In testimony whereof I aii i'x my signatua'e, vin gresence 0i 5W0 witnesses.

CHRZSTGPHER JOE LAKE,

i Mmnmm' MEN CHEUSTGE HER LAKE) "Ni tns'sses M. WQQSTER S. W. ATHERTQN. 

